health

Body Types, Skinny Fat and the drawbacks of the Body Mass Index (BMI)

Fresh off our trip up to New England, Shannon and I kick off this week’s Addicted to Fitness podcast reminiscing about how good, and how bad we were in regards to what we ate. Shannon discovered, with the help of the Lose It! app, that the most egregious diet perpetrators were the adult beverages and dessert. In other words, SUGAR! Even though we strayed a little from our normal low-carb diet, we weren’t the only ones concerned about “cheating” on our diets. We discovered that a couple of close friends had recently joined Weight Watchers and I’m happy to say have had some awesome results. I know that in the past we’ve voiced our concerns about the long-term success rates of “calorie counting” diets, but I do believe they can make people more cognizant of the effect certain foods have on their bodies. Their weight loss and the way they were discussing food choices made me believe they were on the road to healthy eating.

 

After our trip down recent memory lane, Shannon and I jump into a discussion about the 3 different body types. According to a article adapted from the book ROAR by Stacy T. Sims, PhD, the three general body types are ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. Each body type has different symmetry, ability to gain/lose fat or muscle, exercise preferences and nutrition requirements. According to the article, Shannon and I identify with a lot of the mesomorph qualities but we also possess attributes from the other categories. Check out this article and let us know which body types you most identify with. It may help you determine which nutrition and exercise plan will optimize your health.

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Image courtesy of robinshea.com

One of the seemingly antiquated methods to determine overall health is the Body Mass Index (BMI). A simple ratio of weight and height has been used for nearly 200 years to determine whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. Shannon and I discuss the pitfalls of BMI, including some troubling statistics brought to light in a recent New York Times article. The article breaks down a survey of over 5,000 people in which nearly 1 out of 5 participants were misidentified as being at a healthy or unhealthy weight. One segment of the population that is misdiagnosed are those with weight that is normal according to BMI, but their body fat % is higher than recommended. This phenomenon is known as “Skinny Fat” and Shannon and I describe why this may be more dangerous than being obese.

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Image courtesy of nytimes.com

Week in and week out, we try our very best to give you the most up to date health & fitness information. Whether it be about healthy foods, new exercise equipment or the latest wellness book, our goal is to provide information that will ultimately improve your quality of life. We already have our next interview with a health & fitness professional lined up, and we’re planning a couple cool on-location podcasts for the near future. Our weekly downloads continue to climb which tells us that you enjoy what you hear and you’re sharing the podcast. Keep on sharing and please, please, please give us a rating and review on iTunes. Thanks again and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s episode

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2#episodeGuid=4b15b6c3cd7a94b904e0ace4e33cdb5e

Android/Google Play: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/body-types-skinny-fat-and-the-drawbacks-of-the-body-mass-index-bmi

Daily Fuel

A client of mine recently said I should post more pictures of my meals, so I figured why not start with a snapshot of what my fiancé and I bring to work every day. One of the keys things to remember about nutrition is that you want to eat food that’s nutrient dense. Nutrient dense foods contain higher levels of macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) and micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) which minimizes the amount of “empty” calories. The more nutrient dense your food is, the more satiated you’ll feel after eating it. That’s why I always fill our lunches with veggies, fruit, nuts and protein sources containing healthy fats. We’re fortunate enough to be able to process dairy in the form of yogurt & cheese, but we make a conscious effort not to overdo it. We also try our best to limit our sugar sources to just fruit. What are you packing in your lunch? Do you bring enough food with you to be satiated throughout the day? Do you find yourself buying food while at work?

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Last Week’s Highlight Reel

I know we’re a few days into the week, but I wanted to share a highlight video from last week’s ETT training. We started off the week with a great ETT Group workout followed it up with several ETT personal training sessions and finished off the week with a great run & stair climb on the Tampa Riverwalk. ETT would like to thank all of its members for their participation & dedication to building the ETT community. ETT would not be what it is today without their help

If you’re interested in joining the ETT community, reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or simply send us an email at elementaltampa@gmail.com.

Diversification isn’t just for your portfolio

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) sent out a press release stating that processed meats are carcinogenic to humans and that red meat is probably carcinogenic to humans. Since I frequently mention my proclivity as an ominvore, I’m sure most of you think that this post will try to debunk the WHO’s findings. Well……surprise! I actually think the WHO’s findings are great! I believe nutrition is a very important issue, especially in the U.S., and informing individuals on the health effects of certain foods is extremely important. Also, I’m a big proponent of having diversity in one’s diet. If you read the press release, the WHO states that eating more than 50 grams of processed meats (approximately 2 slices of bacon) or 100 grams of red meat (approximately 1/4 lb burger) a DAY can increase the risk of certain types of cancer. It DOES NOT suggest that people should stop eating meat. In fact, the WHO states that “red meat has nutritional value” and that governments should use this information to educate their citizens on proper nutrition. The WHO press release DOES NOT say that processed & red meat are as carcinogenic as tobacco or asbestos, as some media outlets reported. Check out the screen grab below from the WHO’s Twitter page for a more in depth explanation of the classification.
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I am a meateater and will continue to eat meat. I will also continue to eat a diverse diet in order to limit my processed & red meat intake. Veggies, fruit, starches, nuts, seeds, poultry, dairy, the occasional adult beverage, seafood, and everything else in between. I believe all these foods along with processed & red meat have allowed humans to become the ultimate omnivores.image

I hope the WHO press release will motivate individuals who rely on processed & red meat as their primary protein source to diversify their diets. I know I’m only scratching the surface of this issue, but I wanted to clarify some misinformation, and further promote the positive side of the WHO’s findings. If you have any comments please leave them below.

Back to School ***UPDATED***

Original post published July 8th

Recently I’ve been researching a new certification to compliment my current personal training certification. Being certified in another fitness related discipline allows me to offer more services to my clients and it helps keep my current personal trainer certification up to date. Three certifications that I’ve been looking into are:

– Fitness Nutrition
– Kettlebell Instructor
– Weight Loss specialist

Before I choose which one I’m going to pursue I wanted to get your opinion on what certification you would want your personal trainer to possess. Please feel free to suggest any training not listed above and/or not directly related to fitness (i.e. website development). Any feedback you can provide is greatly appreciated.

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Update

After a lot of research into my next fitness related certification, I’ve decided to go with the Fitness Nutrition Specialization offered by NASM. I chose this certification because it will provide me with a better understanding of how nutrition affects my clients’ quest to lead a healthier life. This certification will educate me on nutrition topics such as micro & macronutrients, caloric needs, metabolism, portion size, interpreting food labels, and many more. I won’t be able create meal plans to meet specific dietary needs, but I will be more prepared to answer “How much protein should I eat throughout the day?” or “What’s the best food to eat before and after a workout?”

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The recipe for healthier life consists oh two primary ingredients: diet and exercise. Generally speaking, if you make the right decisions on how to treat your body, and what to put into your body, it will reward you by functioning like a well oiled machine. My goal as a personal trainer is to provide people with the tools they need to make their “machine” as efficient as possible. In order to do so, I need to continue to educate myself on the latest information regarding diet and exercise, and the Fitness Nutrition Specialization just happens to be the next chapter in my curriculum.

It’s Getting Better All The Time

It has been a little over 3 months since I started offering individualized ETT personal training sessions. During that time I’ve done a lot of “on the job” training in order to meet the specific needs of each client. I’m constantly looking for feedback from my clients to ensure that I am providing them the training that they desire. I recently had 2 clients complete their ETT personal training packages, and ask if they would fill out a survey about their experience training with ETT.

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I have to admit I love reading survey answers like “I have worked with personal trainers in the past and Nick is easily the best. He is attentive, encouraging, and receptive to feedback.” As good as those comments make me feel about the ETT training system I think I appreciate the constructive suggestions more. One of the clients suggested that I work on “smoother/faster transitions between segments in the program.” I am a stickler on proper technique which leads to me giving very detailed instructions so I’m sure I can get a little long winded. I will definitely work on streamlining my instructions in order to help move the workout along and keep the client’s heart rate at the optimum BPM for exercise. Another suggestion that one of the clients made was that they “prefer not to workout after sitting in traffic for 45 minutes after work.” I totally understand how unmotivated a person can be to exercise after putting in at least 8 hours at work then sitting in rush hour traffic. I think it is pivotal for me to recognize which clients need motivation whether it be through text messages or posts on ETT’s social media pages. In addition to motivation, the last suggestion brings up another aspect of ETT personal training that I hope to address in the near future.

Due to my non-fitness related work schedule, the vast majority of my personal training sessions occur weekdays after 4pm. I realize that the limited schedule is an issue I will have to address if ETT is to evolve from its current state. My hope is that one day, through the knowledge I gather from certification classes and the “hands on” experience I gain during ETT personal training sessions, I will be able to convert Elemental Training Tampa from a part-time passion project into a full-time labor of love.

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ETT Workout of the Week Ep.1

Some of you may have noticed that July came and went without any mention of an ETT group training session. The recent wet weather in the Tampa Bay Area essentially eliminated any opportunities for us to hold our monthly group training. This is the first time in almost a year that we have not gotten together to train, but you can still get your ETT fix with the first edition of the ETT WORKOUT of the Week! Instead of the single ETT exercise videos you are use to, this video provides an entire workout complete with detailed instructions on striking stance and several different striking techniques. The video also demonstrates each exercise with modifications and tips to ensure you perform each exercise safely and properly. Please remember to warm-up before starting the workout and modify the exercises to match your fitness level. We would love to make these workout videos a regular thing, which means we need your feedback to help us improve the quality of future workout videos. ‘Nuff talk, now get out there and HIT IT!!